Digital marketing is a living, breathing organism that is constantly changing as new technologies, techniques and algorithms become available. As such, keeping up with all of the moving parts of digital marketing can be a task – From SEO to PPC, video marketing and best practices; the environment as we know it is not what it was yesterday, nor will it be what it is today, tomorrow.
We know what worked last year, and the year before that. But, if we enter a new year with no change in strategy, we risk missing the mark.
Although nobody can say with 100% certainty what the future of marketing will look like, we have rounded up a list of useful insights and predictions into some of the possibilities for digital marketing in the year 2022.
Let’s get started.
Humanisation
There’s no two ways about it – technology is continuing to advance at a rapid rate. Automation and digitisation have become a central focus for many brands. This is great for optimising workflow and processes, but it disrupts an important part of interaction between brands and consumers.
While technology such as AI and data-driven marketing continue to grow, there is a desire to make marketing more human again. Every marketing process starts with a person and ends with a person. Consumers seek human connection and in 2022, brands need to adjust their overarching focus to be on people, with technology as the support system.
World Class Customer Experience
There has been a massive shift in the belief about what marketing really is. It’s no longer about convincing people to buy from your business. Instead, it has shifted to providing exemplary user experiences that keep people coming back for more.
Customers expect a seamless experience from the very first spark of interest. Gone are the days of customers waiting for you to tell them how great your products are; the modern-day customer has done their own research and know what they want.
Going into 2022, marketers are going to need to consider CX in every single aspect of their marketing strategy and optimise accordingly.
Execution of The Cookie
Google announced that come 2022 and it would end third-party cookie tracking. But what does this mean? In a nutshell, it’s not good news and will require some radical change.
Although tracking users across the web is paramount to many advertisers, user privacy has become important to more and more internet users. As with any major shift involving privacy and data, the way we do business online will change.
If you’re an advertiser that’s thrived on third-party data, you might need be innovative in the way you navigate this pivot. Consider your alternatives and stay up to date with news relating to data privacy that could affect your business.
Zero-Click Searches
When you head to Google Search with a question and the answer you’ve been looking for is suggested in a paragraph at the top of the results page, this is known as position zero, the prime real estate. You have the answer you need, so there’s no need to click on an alternative result, hence ‘zero-click search’.
As users become more time-conscious and efficient in their searching capabilities, zero-click searches will become more prevalent.
Going into 2022, put time into considering how you can optimise to appear in position zero for valuable questions that your audience may be asking.
Video Marketing
With a growing number of users preferring to watch rather than read, video marketing is steadily on the rise. Coupled with the global influence of apps like TikTok and Snapchat, the importance of video to all digital marketing channels is growing, fast.
Since the pandemic, users are now consuming more video content than ever before. And this doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
Going forward, marketers should pay attention to the fact that video remains a key priority and optimise their approach accordingly.
As 2021 draws to a close, the principle of putting customers at the center of the product has demonstrated its importance and will continue to increase in significance going forward. Technology has advanced, but it’s important for marketers to be flexible and adapt to changing conditions while striving to keep their brand human orientated and technologically optimised.